


Ankle Deep in the Ocean of Space

by CelesteIsHere



Category: Free!, Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, M/M, Slow Burn, Vulcan!Haru, based on enterprise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-21 17:22:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18145178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteIsHere/pseuds/CelesteIsHere
Summary: If you had told Makoto a few years ago that he would be captain of the first starship to explore the galaxy, he wouldn't have believed you.





	1. Chapter 1

If you had told Makoto a few years ago that he would be captain of the first starship to explore the galaxy, he wouldn't have believed you. In fact, he would have laughed, shook his head, and rubbed the back of his neck with the youthful bashfulness that took him years to grow out of. Now, he is bordering 30, has a good head on his shoulders, and had a newfound sense of confidence, or so he likes to tell himself.

 That all seems to be withering away as he stares up at the _Enterprise_ , safely docked in Starbase One. He peers at it through the massive window that stretches the entire width of the room with awe-struck eyes. He can almost understand why all the engineers and gear heads he's met treat the machines like they're alive. He's never felt smaller and more intimidated in his life than in this moment, even though he’s been on the ship a few times before this. Being on the shuttle to the ship is even worse, stuck in a cramped space while a monstrous beast looms over him.

 “She's a beauty, isn't she?” A voice says from behind him, snapping him out of his starstruck gaze.

 “Ah, Admiral,” He says after turning to greet the man. “Yeah, it really is something.”

Admiral Hazuki stands before him, an older man with receding hair and a short, pudgy body that offsets the hardness of his face. He carries himself in a way Makoto was never fond of, as if he was more wise, more clever than the person he was talking to. “You know my son is going to be on the ship, yes?” He says.

 “Yes, while I was hand-picking the crew, you strongly suggested that Nagisa be added to the crew manifest.” Makoto says gently, in a way that takes away from the subtle malice in his words. The Admiral doesn’t pick up on it.

 He gives Makoto a smug look and clasps his hands behind his back. “Speaking of the crew, you're going to have a very special member. A first officer.”

 “Oh?”

“A Vulcan.” Admiral Hazuki lowers his voice a little and raises his eyebrows, like it's a secret.

Makoto had met with his fair share of Vulcans over the course of _Enterprise_ ’s development and the mantle of Captain being given to him. With his experience of their condescending looks and patronizing tones, he wasn’t incredibly excited at the premise of having his second in command constantly reminding him how primitive and helpless humans were. He tries to keep an open mind, however. Surely not _all_ Vulcans are borderline insufferable people that, for all their claims of being enlightened and respectful of all species, cannot give the most basic level of respect to humans and their customs. Statistically speaking, there has to be at least one Vulcan that likes humans, or at the very least, tolerates them without complaining. He hopes that that mythical Vulcan will be his first officer.

“I’d like to say that’s unexpected, but it really isn’t.” Makoto sighs. “Vulcan High Command sent the order?”

“Yes, yes. It’s the same spiel they’ve been giving us for a century, but this was their final compromise. They say we're too inexperienced to be flying alone, and we need one of their button-pushing elves to be keeping an eye on you. Making sure we don’t mess it up.” He chuckles.

Makoto clenches his fists at his rude comment. For a few seconds, wrestles with the decision of letting it slide but decides against it. No matter how he felt about Vulcans, he really didn’t have a tolerance for crass comments about any specific group, especially from an _Admiral_. If he was going to be the Captain of the first exploration ship, he couldn’t just let dumb shit like this slide. They were past this, as humans. “Admiral, may I speak freely?”

Hazuki eyes him for a second before nodding.

“Do you think calling Vulcans that is at all appropriate? You are an Admiral who works very closely with Vulcans and has for most of your career,” Makoto ignores the Admiral opening his mouth with an annoyed look on his face. “I'm just saying, if you had said that about any ethnicity or culture within Earth, your rank would be stripped by sundown-”

“Tachibana,” He nearly shouts, and a little bit of spit gets caught on his lip. He looks a little silly, such a small and portly man staring down six-foot-one Makoto with squared shoulders and narrowed eyes. “You better think real hard about who you're talking to.”

Makoto doesn't budge, doesn’t even rise to his full size. He just maintains eye contact and gives him a small, polite smile. Maybe the Admiral realizes it's not worth it, or realizes his foolishness, or notices the people milling about the room that have fallen silent at his outburst, as he turns away from Makoto and looks back at the _Enterprise_.

“As I was saying, Tachibana,” His tone changed from casual to the formal tone that is expected from a man of his rank. Makoto thinks this is better, since he really doesn’t know the Admiral and doesn’t like his company that much anyway. “Haruka is his name, I think. He’ll be your science officer as well, so if you need to make any amendments to the crew, you better do it.” He did actually need to change some people around. If Haruka was going to be a member of senior staff, then the man who he chose for that role, Ikuya Kirishima, will have to take the night shifts. Maybe he’ll move him to the lab instead of the bridge; Ikuya sometimes didn’t work so well with others, especially under pressure.

“Thank you for informing me.” Makoto says pleasantly, still looking at the Admiral.

“I didn't have to. I chose to come here and personally tell you.” Makoto hears the guilt trip laced in his words and suddenly feels a pang of sympathy for Admiral Hazuki's son. “I also wanted to tell you that you have a lot riding on your shoulders. This mission is making history, and if anything goes wrong, your name will be in the books. It will also look bad for Earth, and then the Vulcans you apparently like so much won't want to work with us.”

Makoto clenches his jaw and keeps his now strained smile to him. “I'm aware of that, Admiral. I don't need to be reminded.” He doesn’t tell him about the anxiety attacks he’s been getting, or that his doctor and therapist are threatening him with sleeping pills if he doesn’t stop staying up late, sick with worry.

“Everyone needs to be reminded from where I'm standing. But, that's all I wanted to say. See you at the send-off, Tachibana.” He turns on his heel and leaves, not letting Makoto say his goodbye.

“Have a nice day, Sir.” He says anyway, and is ignored.

Makoto watches Hazuki’s figure retreat and then leave the room through the big, double-doors. A sigh escapes his lips as he turns his attention back to the ship- _his_ ship and shakes off the unpleasant encounter. He still can't believe this is real. He smiles despite himself, thinking back to his teenage self, flitting back and forth from career plans. Competitive swimmer, swim coach, teacher, firefighter, and somehow he settled on starships. He originally just wanted to serve as a crew member, but after seeing all the big egoed, borderline xenophobic, and downright cruel people who were all gunning to be a Captain, he fell into the role he's always found a way to fill. The if-no-one-better-is-going-to-do-it-then-I-will role. As he went through the testing and rigorous training over the years and rose up in rank and reputation, he became less confident about that role as he saw his competition for the very first Captain's chair. He was competing with Starfleet's best and most capable. It always felt wrong to him whenever he beat someone in a fitness test, or solved some moral dilemma that no one else could, like he was intruding and no one had told him to leave yet. It never occurred to him that he was also considered one of Starfleet's best, and he wished someone told him that before he was practically crying sitting across from _the_ Jonathan Archer. He would have chosen him as his first officer if Starfleet hadn’t told him to hold off. Archer was going to get his own command if _Enterprise_ did well. Makoto was looking forward to the day when there would be whole fleets of human vessels in space; he thinks it would feel less alone and less daunting.

Regardless, the past few months haven't felt real to him. He's pretty sure his therapist is very, very tired of Makoto saying “I still can't believe it” and “what if I mess up” and “Jonathan Archer wouldn't be _this_ worried”, to which his therapist always replied, “You are stronger than you know”.

He's starting to believe that sentiment as he stares up at that big metal beast. He could do this. Maybe. No, definitely, he could do this. Probably.

 

-

 

The week from his conversation with the Admiral to the maiden voyage was at the same time, the most hectic and busy week Makoto's had to drag himself through since college, and also the slowest. Each time he got a few seconds to himself for his brain to settle from the million-and-one duties that needed to be fulfilled, he was aware of how much time had passed and how much stretched ahead. These few batches of when time slowed down always made him feel weak at the knees, but a smile always crept on his face. He could never indulge in the mini whirlwind of emotions for very long, because then he had to convince a crew member that it is worth it to go, or help Matsuoka with something in Engineering, or load his baggage into his quarters.

The chaos of the week put its toll on Makoto. His fingers were stiff and sore as he pulled his uniform over his tense shoulders. The navy blue jumpsuit was stiff and clean in a way that only brand-new clothes are, and it filled him with the same nervous excitement as dressing up for the first day of school. Admiral Hazuki's words play in his head for the thousandth time this week, and, yes, he thinks to himself, it is almost like the first day of school. Except instead of worrying about finals and exams, he has to worry about the perception of his entire species, the lives of his crew, and the lives of all the species they encounter. Like, totally no pressure, right?

He looks at himself in the mirror and gives his reflection a bewildered, stressed smile that draws a chuckle out of him.

“Holy hell,” He mutters, messing with his hair. “This is happening.” He frets about the style for a good few minutes before settling on parting it off-center and pushing it back with mousse. It looks a little ridiculous on him, too adult and professional, but that's what the event calls for, he supposes.

The train to the shuttle link to Starbase One was uneventful, or perhaps it was very eventful, and Makoto was too consumed with his thoughts to notice. His brain only comes back to him from its wild direction of thought when he runs into his chief of security before stepping into his shuttle.

“Sousuke!” Makoto says, smile blooming on his face. He feels his shoulders lose some of their knots just looking at the man.

Sousuke gives him an easy half-smile and drags him into a one-armed hug. “Hey, man. Or, uh, I should be saying ‘Captain’ now, huh?”

“Yes, you should, Commander.” Makoto straightens his spine and fakes a serious demeanor. “I will not tolerate any unprofessional behavior from my crew, no matter our personal connection.”

Sousuke holds up his hand and widens his eyes in mock-fear. “Whoa, big man.”

They share a chuckle before Makoto asks, “I thought you were already aboard the ship?”

He sighs. “Yeah, well, I was. ‘Til I had to come down here and yell and some clowns who can’t tell the difference between plasma coils and coolant. You know how it is.”

Makoto gives Sousuke a sympathetic look. “Yeah, I’ve had to deal with that the past week, and I’m Captain. You only have security to worry about, I have the whole ship.”

“Ah, shit, that must be giving you gray hair. It’s stressing me out, especially ‘cus I gotta help Rin out to. Tell you a secret: I don’t know the difference between plasma coils and coolant either, but I can at least read a fucking box.” He ignores Makoto’s pointed look at him swearing. “Well, I’m heading back now, if you wanna share that shuttle with me?”

He nods, and they board the shuttle. They both apparently forget how small the shuttles are, and are reminded as they try to maneuver to the seats, both six-foot-something and two hundred pounds, with the builds of quarterbacks. They both grunt and whine as they knock their heads against the roof and each other and let out a sigh of relief when they finally sit down.

Sousuke sits in the pilot’s seat, and receives a look from Makoto. “Relax, it’s just a shuttle. I can actually fly things, you know.”

“I’m not concerned about your flying; I just don’t want you to get lost.” He says with a pleasant smile.

Sousuke shoots him a dirty look and kicks the shuttle into gear, taking it out of the shuttlebay. It’s a very short ride, only about three minutes before Spacedock One comes into view. The _Enterprise_ is docked, looking a little bit more finished than the last time Makoto saw it. As they get closer, he sees a few engineers in spacesuits putting on the finishing touches to the outside.

“Get closer to the starboard bow, below the disc.” He tells Sousuke. The shuttle dips down and Sousuke positions them where Makoto ordered. “There. You see those bent panels? Those are the ones that buckled during tests on Thursday.” He says, pointing to the hull.

He presses a button on the control panel, opening a communication channel with the ship. “Tachibana to Lieutenant-Commander Matsuoka.”

“Aye,” Comes through the receiver a few moments later.

“Sousuke and I are on the shuttle over, and I noticed you haven’t taken care of the busted panels on the hull.” He says in an exaggerated accusatory tone.

“Ah, damn, I forgot all about that. I’ll send a crew over in a sec. Sorry, Mako.” Rin sounds almost defeated in his tone.

Sousuke picks up on it; he was always a softie when it came to Rin. “Don’t stress it, Rin. All of us have been up to our asses in alligators for the past few weeks.”

A weak chuckle comes through the receiver, then, “Yeah. Matsuoka out.” and the line goes dead.

Makoto gives Sousuke a concerned look. “He okay?”

“Yeah, you know how he gets when he’s stressed. Doesn’t help that the anniversary of his dad’s death was only a couple days ago, too.” Sousuke looks down at his hands for a moment, eyes distant. He comes out of it and lightly shakes his head, moving to pilot the shuttle towards the bay. “He’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.”

The shuttle safely nestles into the shuttlebay. It’s a little bit easier getting out of the shuttle than in, surprisingly enough. The wide, open shuttlebay is a relief to Makoto as he steps out, though it isn’t really that much to look at. There was only enough capacity for two shuttles, and it was still a little cramped. He supposes he should get used to the claustrophobic feeling; he’s been on the ship before and everything is very confined and close together. He’s glad he has a relatively small crew so they don’t all go mad and start killing each other. Or something like that. He suddenly feels envious of the nice, wide halls he had walked through the one time he had visited a Vulcan ship.

“I gotta go sort out the weapons system and see if they’ve managed to beam the right shit up.” Sousuke says behind him. “See ya later, Captain,”

“See you on the bridge, Sousuke,” Makoto says warmly, which causes Sousuke to give him a half-hearted, two finger salute. That draws a chuckle out of Makoto as he turns and makes his way to the bridge.

The hallways are just as small as he remembers, but the turbolifts are slower. He wonders if maybe too much power is being used through the ship, resulting in the turbolifts being slow. Or maybe he’s just imagining it, because the doors open a second later, revealing the bridge. The captain’s chair sits in the middle of the bridge, a step or two below where he was standing. Before he could tentatively make his way to the fabled chair and sit down, a voice grabs his attention.

“Captain,”

Makoto turns and is met with an unfamiliar face. It was a beautiful face, at that. Black hair falling over pale skin. Wide blue eyes stare up at him, and Makoto feels his heart leap. His eyes drop lower than they should, and it delights him to see the man wearing an almost skin-tight, grey catsuit under a collared, angular jacket. He then noticed the straight posture, the sharp, upturned eyebrows, and pointed ears and realized this was his first officer, a Vulcan. He feels a blush creep up his face as he realizes who he had a momentary crush on and stomps down whatever feelings he was just experiencing.

“I am Haruka,” He speaks again with a smooth, monotone voice. “I will be serving as your first officer, as well as science officer.”

Makoto offers a warm smile and snaps himself out of whatever starstruck daze he was in. “Welcome aboard, Haruka. I’m Makoto Tachibana, if you didn’t already know. Have you been shown around the ship?”

Haruka inclines his head forward slightly. “Yes… an Ensign saw me exit a shuttle and decided he was going to… loudly escort me around.”

Makoto furrows his brows. “What was his name?”

“I’m not sure. He said it too quickly. He is short, blond, and…” He pauses, as if trying to figure out what to say. “Very obnoxious.”

Makoto lets out a sigh before he can stop himself. “That must be Ensign Nagisa Hazuki.”

“May I ask what his purpose on the ship is? It wasn’t apparent to me at the time.”

He gives Haruka a withered smile. “It wasn’t my choice to place him on the ship. Well, it was, but his father is an Admiral and it was strongly encouraged that he be part of the crew complement. His father wanted him to be the communications officer, but Nagisa requested to be moved to hydroponics. He likes plants.”

Haruka raises an eyebrow. “I see. Why would an Admiral request to have his son be on a starship if he was not… the captain’s choice?” Makoto notices Haruka seems to choose his words very carefully, resulting in a tendency to pause a lot and draw out his sentences. It’s a little endearing, he thinks.

“I’ve been wondering that, too.” He says uselessly, shrugging.

Haruka’s brows twitch together before one raises again.

The turbolift doors open, and Makoto steps out of the way. The communications officer, Rei Ryugazaki, steps through the doors, trailed by Rin’s impossibly fat cat Steve.

“Hi, Lieutenant,” Makoto says amiably, restraining from laughing at Rei’s disgruntled face. “Got a friend, there?”

Rei pushes his glasses up indignantly. “Hardly. My cologne must have woken him up as I walked past and caused him to follow me.”

Makoto looks bewildered at him. “Do you really put on that much cologne that it wakes up a cat?"

“No,” He huffs. “The spritzer did not spray a fine mist, but a jet of liquid. I was in a hurry and could not change clothes.”

“Ah, I see,” Makoto looks at Haruka and nearly laughs at his scrunched nose and disgruntled expression. “Vulcans have a more heightened sense of smell, right, Haruka?”

Haruka returns his expression to careful neutrality. “Typically, only the females, but I do, as well.” He then eyes the cat with what looks like to be curiosity.

Rei’s eyes widen when realizes Haruka’s presence, and straightens his posture. “Ah, hello! You must be Sub-Commander Haruka! I am Lieutenant Rei Ryugazaki, communications officer.” His hands twitch to offer a hand in greeting, but decides against it.

Haruka does something that surprises both of them, and offers his hand instead. Rei takes it very quickly and shakes a little too forcefully.

“I thought Vulcans don’t really like physical contact?” Makoto asks, eyes wide.

Haruka lets go of Rei and returns his hand to its place clasped behind his back. “We don’t. However, I am aboard your ship, and I thought I should adhere to your customs.” His eyes return to the cat. “To a certain extent.”

Rei follows his line of sight. “Oh, pay no mind to this cat. He is not a good representation of the beautiful species of cats. His owner refuses to something about his obesity, which is going to result in me snapping and taking Steve down to sickbay for some cat diet pills, or something.”

Makoto laughs. “Steve won’t let Rin pick him long enough to take him to sickbay.” He crouches down and extends a hand to the cat. He walks over and rubs his soft little head against Makoto’s fingers.

“Why would someone bring their… pet… that does not like them aboard a ship?” Haruka asks.

Makoto looks up at him, fingers now scratching Steve’s fluffy belly. “Because Rin loves his cat and would miss him. It’s not so bad for Steve, anyway. He’s perfectly fine with everyone but Rin.” He chuckles. “Plus, it’s good luck to bring cats on ships.”

Haruka doesn’t say anything, but quirks an eyebrow and turns back to his station. Makoto is a little disappointed that Haruka’s jacket is tapered in the back and covers him to the middle of his thighs. What he can see of his legs is quite nice, Makoto thinks before blushing and rising to his feet.

“We’ll be departing soon, right?” He says to Rei, trying to distract himself.

“Uh, yes, I believe so, Captain. I’ll go set up my station and make sure everything is in working order.” He bows slightly and walks past Makoto and Haruka.

Makoto moves to the captain’s chair and eyes it before sitting down. He has sat in the chair before, but there is a sense of finality to it this time. It feels real, not like he’s playing dress-up of some other captain. He leans back, and the chair lets out a loud squeak. He ignores it until it squeaks again when he shifts slightly.

“Can you refrain from doing that, please?” Haruka says from behind him.

Makoto flushes and perches himself on the edge of the seat. “Yeah, sorry.”

He takes out a pad computer from one of the pockets in his jumpsuit and looks over the status of various systems and processes going on around the ship. They’re all complete, miraculously. Ensign Hazuki reports an all-clear on the conditions in hydroponics, Nao says all medicinal equipment, his various animals and personnel have arrived, and all other departments are ready to go.

The turbolift door opens again and three people walk through: Sousuke, Lieutenant Natsuya Kirishima, and Ensign Gou Matsuoka. They all say their greetings and make their way to their stations. Steve follows Gou to her station and rubs up against her leg when she sits down, making her laugh. Makoto assumes they have seen Haruka while he was being dragged through the ship by Ensign Hazuki, or else they would have been a little more surprised to see him.

“Matsuoka to bridge.” Rin’s voice comes through the speakers.

“Tachibana here.”

“Engineering’s got everything covered, Captain,” Makoto can hear the relief in is voice. “We got the hull fixed, gravity sorted on B-deck, protein re-sequencers fixed in the mess hall, deflector readjusted, _and_ got the warp core up to warp four point five. Pretty damn good for an afternoon, if I do say so myself.”

Makoto smiles, proud that his pick for chief engineer isn’t letting him down. “Good work, Lieutenant-Commander. You and your crew worked hard today.”

“Damn right, we did, sir. I think we deserve a pizza party, at least.”

“I’ll let you sort that out.” He laughs. “It’s about time to get ready. You’re one hundred percent sure that nothing’s going to explode or shut down when we leave space dock?” No one wanted a repeat of what happened to the NX-Alpha that exploded after reaching warp two point two.

He hears a huff on the other line. “Well, nothing’s ever a hundred percent, Captain, I thought they taught you that at Starfleet. But when you put it like that, you make me second-guess myself.” Rin presses a few buttons and shouts to a few engineers, words unintelligible as he leans away from the mic. He returns after a few moments. “Yeah, we’re good, Captain.”

“Good to hear it, Rin. I think you can relax now.” Makoto says.

“I’m gonna burn my skin off tonight with how hot and long of a shower I’m gonna take.” Rin jokes. “Matsuoka out.”

Makoto smiles to himself and looks around the bridge. Everyone seems to be waiting on the go-ahead from Starfleet. Natsuya, his station positioned in front of the captain’s chair and a few steps down, drums his fingers against the metal of the helm. He’s careful to avoid any of the buttons on the top, not wanting to rip the ship out of space dock accidentally. Gou’s station is to the left and in front of Rei’s, and she’s turned around and speaking to him about something. As Makoto listens in, he hears them complaining about how they’re going to have to conserve their conditioner like it’s gold. Haruka is facing towards the viewscreen, but is still occupied with his station and appears busy. He turns to the right and sees Sousuke staring at him.

“Can I help you, Commander?” He says pleasantly.

“Can I speak freely, Captain, as your friend?”

Makoto furrows his brows and frowns. “Of course.”

Sousuke takes a deep breath. “Your hair looks really stupid like that, sir.”

Makoto purses his lips, trying not to laugh. “Yours isn’t much to look at either, Commander.”

“Yeah, and I don’t pretend otherwise.” The corners of Sousuke’s mouth turn up despite himself.

Gou erupts in laughter from her side of the room, causing Makoto to turn to her.

“Something funny, Ensign?” Makoto says with a voice strained from the effort of hiding his laughter.

“Haruka, you look so confused!” She says between giggles.

Haruka raises an eyebrow when the bridge’s focus turns to him. “Humans are quite… strange. To me, at least.” He pauses again, in thought. “There is quite a negative opinion of humans that a lot of Vulcans share, which made me want to verify its validity by volunteering for this mission. So far, you have met those stereotypes, but also… have subverted them. It is impressive.”

“Was that a compliment?” Natsuya asks from the helm when no one responds to Haruka.

He hums, then gives a small nod. “I believe so.”

“Thank you, Haruka.” Makoto says earnestly. “I hope we continue to surprise you.”

Haruka opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by Gou’s console beeping.

“Starfleet has given us the go-ahead!” She says excitedly. “We can leave!”

Makoto catches Natsuya’s eyes that are suddenly nervous and gives him a nod. “Let’s go, Kirishima.”

Natsuya turns around and starts pressing buttons. “Uh, where to, Captain?”

Makoto hums for second in thought. “Haruka, do you have any suggestions on a starting location or direction?”

Haruka flicks through a few screens on his console. “Starfleet has given us a course to start on, 18 degrees from our current heading. Sending you the coordinates, Lieutenant.”

“Okay…” Natsuya mumbles, positioning the ship and readying the controls. He sits still for a moment, unsure of himself.

“If we’re gonna go, let’s go, Natsuya,” Makoto says with an easy tone.

“Right, yeah,” He engages warp drive and then the stars around them are stretching into white streaks until the viewer shows nothing but white blurs on an inky, black background.

It’s so beautiful. They’ve all seen the videos of what warp looks like, but, just like when you look down on Earth from Starbase One, it’s so much more incredible in person. Makoto gets overwhelmed with the awe of it all, he feels tears prick his eyes. He’s finally seeing the universe. He’s seeing the light from billion-year old stars whiz by him like trees on a road trip. Those stars could house entire solar systems, those solar systems with planets, those planets with _life_. Lifeforms he’s never seen, cultures that are so different to everything he’s ever known. Those stars could be dead, for all Makoto knows. The light is a billion years old, maybe more, maybe less. He can’t believe the scale of it. In the thirty seconds he’s been staring at the screen, he knows he’s seen the sources of light to so many different lifeforms, be them humanoid, single-cellular, or fungi. The thought makes him giddy.

He’s so glad he was chosen for captain. He knows he can do this.


	2. Chapter 2

The  _ Enterprise _ has been out in space for two weeks now, and the young captain Makoto Tachibana would really like to say that it's been a fun time, full of adventure. He'd really like to say it, but, unfortunately, it hasn't. 

The excitement of the week had been when a small Ferengi tradeship had been damaged in an asteroid field and had requested assistance. Makoto was thrilled to see someone so  _ alien _ . He had only seen Vulcans, a Betazoid, and an El-Aurian, who looked exactly like humans aside from a few very minor differences. The Ferengi man was so different that Makoto nearly gasped when he came up on the viewscreen, something that he later felt guilty over.

After they had agreed to help the man, whose name they were not given, Haruka had warned him about the tendencies of Ferengi. Haruka, as usual, had chosen his words carefully when he described them to be penny-pinching con artists that told the truth as often as they walked away from a bargain, which was never. Or Haruka had said something much less crass, but Rin paraphrased it while visiting the bridge to hand Makoto a report. Rin and his crew then fixed the Ferengi's ship, and true to Haruka's word, the Ferengi tried to strike up a deal, trying to pay them with “an ancient, very valuable relic” that no one had ever heard of. It was probably worthless.

“If you want to make a deal,” Makoto had said, grateful for Haruka's advice. “You can pay us with a dilithium crystal or two for repairing your ship.” The Ferengi then grumbled something and ended the call, then jumped to warp. 

“It's better that he doesn't stay around, Captain,” Haruka said from behind him, noticing how Makoto had slumped against his chair in defeat. “The Ferengi are one of the few species that do warrant generalization, as interaction with the wrong one can cost you a great price. Shortly after the Vulcans first met the Ferengi, our flagship was taken from us in a 'friendly’ game. It was only returned once the captain had found out the game was rigged.” 

That had made Makoto feel slightly better about the situation. However, it had delighted him and many other members of the bridge to know that even the Vulcans had been tricked by some good ol’ fashioned sleight of hand. He had seen Sousuke raise an eyebrow at the story, and could almost see the plan forming in Sousuke's head to team up with Rin and beat Haruka in some rigged poker. Sousuke was always a cheat in games, and Rin was no better. Rin was always a little more deceptive because he could actually win without cheating, whereas Sousuke gave himself away the second he was doing well.

The two weeks haven't been totally useless, Makoto thinks. He's finally gotten through the three inch thick book that's been ignored for the past few months since it was given to him. He's also noticed quite a lot about his crew in such a small time.

For starts, Lieutenant Ryugazaki was most likely autistic, as he had an incredible knack for picking up languages yet missing the subtlety and nuance of his own. He took things quite literally sometimes, and other times he would completely misread a situation and say something inappropriate. His stance was quite stiff and formal and it seemed to never change no matter who he was talking to. Ryugazaki also had a habit of rambling on about things without realizing when the other person has lost interest in the conversation. Makoto found his little quirks charming, especially when he asked why Ryugazaki wore glasses in the twenty-second century, to which he replied, “They accentuate my face, giving me a more beautiful appearance. Also, I greatly enjoy doing this.” and pushed them up with his thumb and middle finger.

Makoto has also learned that aside from all of Ensign Hazuki's laughing and jokes and overall very obnoxious demeanor, the man is very kind and not that bright. He also isn't fit for a starship, like Makoto had originally thought, and Hazuki appears to know that as well. Makoto doesn't see much of Hazuki; he bounces from his quarters to hydroponics to the mess hall and back, chatting with people along the way. But Makoto is observant and knows when someone is out of place. He sees Hazuki's glazed over eyes as he walks through the small corridors before snapping back to their usual playfulness. Living conditions in the  _ Enterprise _ are not great for civilians: impersonal quarters, far from home with little in the ways of entertainment. No fresh air, limited fresh food, the risk of combat, the stiff, military environment. The trade-off for all of this is exploring the universe and meeting new species, but if you weren’t interested in that, it could be hell. Hazuki seemed like a social butterfly, and Makoto hoped that he found some really good friends to keep him occupied. He would hate if one of his crew had a mental breakdown halfway across the galaxy from Earth.

Another thing that has caught his attention more than it should is his first officer. He has learned that Haruka was, more than anything _ , practical _ . His actions followed what was the most simple, not some complicated system of logic that only made sense to Vulcans. Haruka also had no problem engaging in human customs and activities and actually seemed interested by it. Makoto still can't believe he witnessed Haruka take out a piece of gum from his mouth (Hazuki must have given it to him- Makoto can't think of anyone else who would) and use it to temporarily fix a loose panel in Engineering. He had heard Rin telling half the ship that before Haruka told him to “please refrain from storytelling”. 

Makoto had also noticed that Haruka sometimes didn't wear his jacket. This might not have been a big deal to most people, but Makoto was harboring a very unprofessional crush on the man. Well, it wasn't a crush, he told himself, it's just that Haruka is incredibly attractive and interesting, and it’s been a while since Makoto has been with anyone. It was only a little bit of physical attraction, and that tight little catsuit Haruka wore as a uniform only encouraged it. The jacket did a very good job of hiding most his figure, but he didn't wear it when it wasn't his shift, nor when he was doing physical labor, and Makoto doesn't have to go into detail about how nice that is to look at. 

This is very unprofessional, Makoto thinks. He's starting to feel his age. Young and foolish. What is he doing, checking out his first officer, who is a Vulcan and probably doesn't even know how to conceptualize the idea of love and sex and attraction? More importantly, why did Starfleet choose a man who isn't even thirty to be captain? Something like this was bound to happen. 

Haruka was surprising. He was refreshing to be around, like sinking into a cool tub when it’s hot out. He was charming, in a strange way. Makoto thinks back to two nights ago when he had invited Haruka to join him, Commander Yamazaki, and Lieutenant-Commander Matsuoka for dinner in his ready room and got a response of, “Okay”. 

“Do we really have to eat with him?” Sousuke grumbled, slouching in his chair.

“Do you really not like Vulcans that much, Sou?” Rin smiled around his very full glass of red wine.

“Do you really need to drink that much wine, lightweight?” Sousuke sat up a little bit more in his chair and folded his arms. “It's not that I don't like him 'cus he's Vulcan, I just don't like him, plain and simple. Dude rubs me the wrong way.”

“I hope he at least took you out for dinner first.”

Sousuke gave him a dirty look and Makoto rolled his eyes. 

The door to the room made a beeping noise, signaling Haruka's arrival. “Can you two behave for the next hour or so?” He said, making his way to the door. 

“Yeah, probably not,” Rin said.

Makoto opened the door and was greeted by Haruka's lovely face. Haruka was not wearing the jacket and his hair was a little tussled. Perhaps he had been exercising in the ship's gym or was laying down. Before his thoughts went somewhere they shouldn't, he smiled and welcomed him in. 

Haruka dutifully went to an open chair and sat down, nodding at Rin and Sousuke as he did so. Rin had smiled warmly at him and offered to pour him a glass of wine.

“Is there a purpose to it?” Haruka raised an eyebrow. 

Rin smirked and poured him a glass anyway. “To get drunk. But, currently, no. It's just a social thing that people do.” 

Haruka accepted that as enough of an answer and took the glass. His nose scrunched up as he brought it near his face, unaccustomed to the strong smell. Rin choked back a laugh and cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows to Sousuke.

“You should get a glass,” He turned his head to Makoto. “You too, Mako,”

Makoto sighed and poured two small glasses. They were really just splashes of wine that Rin could gulp down in a second, but neither he nor Sousuke were very fond of wine, especially red. Makoto was much more of a long island ice tea man and, occasionally a scotch man when he went drinking with Sousuke. He passed the glass to Sousuke and raised his own.

“To our newest crew member and friend,” He began, turning his gaze on Haruka who sat with mild curiosity dancing in his eyes. “I hope you fit in well here and find a home amongst us.”

“Here, here!” Rin said, and they all clinked their glasses together.

“Thank you,” Haruka said gently. He took a very small sip, and it was evident by the way he forced the drink down his throat that he, too, was not much of a wine man. 

Sousuke had then asked some not-casual-enough question about how he was adjusting, to which Haruka answered with his usual dryness. Rin, the saint he is, decided in that moment to down the rest of his glass and pour a new one while starting some inane story that both Makoto and Sousuke have heard a dozen times. Haruka was interested, though, and confused at other parts. 

“Humans are strange,” He would say at one point. “Why would you do that?” He said at another. 

That night was good, Makoto thinks as he sits down on the edge of his bed. He glances over at his bedside clock and lets out a small groan at the time. For the past hour or two, all he's been doing is alternating between pacing in his quarters, reading snippets of a book, and trying to go to sleep. He curses his insomnia and wrestles with the idea of going to sickbay for some medicine or just dealing with it. It would only take a second; a hypospray pressed into his skin and he'd be falling asleep where he stood. He decides to just deal with it. Nao has known Makoto and his various ailments for a while, and there should be no shame in it. He can hear his therapist Miho frowning at him and telling him that he doesn't need to act so strong all the time, that he's allowed to be weak and need help. But he's a Captain, and some dumb sense of duty prevents him from dragging himself to sickbay. So he sits miserably on the edge of his bed. 

“Personal log,” Makoto begins, having nothing better to do. He pauses for a long time before saying anything else. “I still don't know how to do these.’  He chuckles, almost nervous. “We've been in space for nearly two weeks now. I've already done a log about the Ferengi man we ran into earlier, and nothing new has happened since then.

“Well, I've gotten to know the crew a bit better. I believe Ensign Ikuya Kirishima is, uh… a little bit bitter towards Haruka and I, since Haruka essentially stole his position on the bridge. He's been nothing but short with both of us, and I don't think he's even looked Haruka in the eye yet. But, based on his current behavior, I'm glad he's not on the bridge. I don't think he really has the temperament. Not that I know what that is exactly, but I don't think Kirishima is it. His brother is doing fine, however. Natsuya is a great helmsman and seems to get along with everyone.” 

Makoto thinks about what to say next and groans when he comes up short. “Ugh, I really don't like doing these logs. I get bouts of insomnia sometimes and the only reason I'm doing this is because I can't go to sleep.” Frustration builds within him, so he rises to his feet and begins pacing. “I know I should go to the doctor, but… I don't know, I want to seem like I'm actually capable of something for once. I hate being sick, and I get sick so often. I can't help but feel like a liability, and I can't afford to be that now.” He lets out a bitter laugh. “Y'know, I'd really like to know why Starfleet's decided I was captain. Was it because they want this mission to fail? Did they really want some 29 year old that's got anxiety and chronic illness? What's the purpose, what's the  _ logic  _ in  _ that _ ?” The words fall out of his mouth, turning to shouting at the end. He freezes, embarrassed, when he realizes his volume. “Oh, this is ridiculous. Computer, end and delete personal log.” The computer obliges, making a small beeping noise. Makoto feels like a child.

Finally beat down and defeated, he leaves his quarters and makes his way to the sickbay. 

He finds Nao still on shift. Nao has his back turned to him and is tending to something chittering in front of him.

“What are you doing still awake?” Makoto says. He tries to make his tone light, but it's still dragged down by his own bitterness. 

“Well,” Nao turns around and Makoto sees some sort of small animal hanging from his hand. The creature has its little paws clinging onto Nao's fingers that lay horizontally. It reminds Makoto of a sloth hanging from a tree branch. “I’m making sure our medicine is in tip-top shape.” Nao smiles pleasantly. “But, I could ask you the same thing.”

“Yeah,” Makoto smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

Nao looks straight through him. Nao is half El-Aurian, half something else that he hasn't yet disclosed, and is incredibly perceptive. His species lives to be hundreds of years old, and he is one of the younger ones, only about 90. He suspects that he has a shorter lifespan due to not being fully El-Aurian, but it's still longer than anyone on board can conceptualize. 

El-Aurians are from the Delta quadrant, long from Earth or any other planet sitting in the Alpha quadrant. For all Makoto's questions and inquiries over the years, Nao has been quite tight-lipped about his origins and culture. Makoto knows that Nao had been kept on an alien tradeship as prisoner, somehow got to the Alpha quadrant, and fulfilled his role as doctor. Through the interspecies medical exchange, he worked on Earth, where Makoto came across him and became a sort of friend to him. 

“Your insomnia is back again?” Nao tilts his head.

Makoto rubs the back of his neck and nods, ashamed of himself.

El-Aurians are not telepathic, but they are very perceptive. “There’s no shame in it, Makoto. We all have our own stumbling blocks, and yours is medical. There's nothing you can do about that.” He places the small animal in its cage. “But I can, so don't worry about it.” He smiles again, walking over to a cabinet. He rustles around for a specific vial and makes a small “aha!” sound when he finds it. 

“Thanks, Nao…” He mutters.

He assembles the hypospray and walks over to Makoto. He raises it to his neck, and the cold metal is a shock against Makoto’s skin. There’s a jolt as the medicine is injected into him, but it’s gone as soon as it came. “Will that be all, Captain, or is there something else concerning you?” 

“You know there's always something concerning me.”

“Should we bring back your anti-anxiety medication?”

“No,” Makoto sighs, rolling his shoulders. “Miho doesn't think I need them anymore.”

“Hm. Sometimes I would argue with that, but she does know your brain better than I would.”

Makoto hums. Hyposprays always work far too fast for his liking; he can finally feel his brain slowing down to his body’s tired pace. “Yeah, I'm ‘stronger than I know’, according to her.”

Nao chuckles. “Now, that I would agree with. You're captain for a reason, whether you see that or not is up to you. Now, go get some rest. You're falling asleep on your feet.” 

Makoto dumbly nods. He awkwardly places a hand on Nao's shoulder and squeezes, then leaves. It's almost magic how Nao knows exactly what to say to make Makoto feel better. Both he and Miho are so good to him; he's so happy to have them be his doctor and therapist, respectively. The interspecies medical exchange is the best thing the Vulcans have ever brought to the table, and he will be very grateful for that. He doesn't have much more time to think about it before he stumbles into his quarters and slumps into bed.

 

-

 

An incessant nudging on the side of his chest wakes him up.

“Makoto, come on, man,” Makoto thinks the man shaking him is Rin and confirms that when he blearily blinks up at him. “Hey!” Rin grins down at him.

“Hey…” Makoto mumbles, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

Rin backs off from the bed and takes a look around his quarters. “Nice to know that even the Captain's quarters are shit. Anyway, I'm about to kill you, man. Your alarm has been going off for the last half hour at full volume, and I'm next door. Remind me to add some soundproof panels.” 

“Sorry, I had trouble getting to sleep.” 

“And you had trouble getting up. You're lucky you only got me instead of Sousuke. I had to hold him back! Dude was about to rip the power conduits out of the walls.” Rin begins to pick up some shirts Makoto left lying on his desk chair and begins folding them. 

Makoto sits up on his elbows and smirks. “What was Sousuke doing in your quarters this early?” 

Rin hesitates for a second, so subtle that Makoto wouldn't have picked up on it if he didn't know him as well as he does. His eyes went a little wide and Makoto could see the shirt in his hand sway more than it should. Rin recovers and cocks his head. He's got that smug look on his face that he always does before he says something dirty. “What, a guy can't have a good morning blowjob from his best friend?” He chuckles when Makoto sighs and rolls his eyes. 

Makoto sits up properly. The realization that Rin was actually being serious, or wasn’t far from the truth came into his head.

Rin shakes his head, still chuckling. “Nah, Sou was over last night to watch a movie and fell asleep. Had a nice bro cuddle, y'know? We should do more of those, Mako.”

“Not really befitting of a captain.” He swings his legs to the edge of the bed and stretches. “You got plenty of that in the academy, anyway.”

“Are you trying to insinuate something about me?” 

“Hm?” Makoto smiles pleasantly at him. “I meant you and I had a lot of bro cuddles. In the academy.”

Rin nods, but doesn't look convinced. He takes Makoto's now folded clothes and places them on the foot of his bed.

“You didn't have to do that, you know. But, thank you.” Makoto says.

“If I didn't, you would just let it pile up until you had nothing to wear. Plus, it's just practice for when I'm gonna be a househusband in fifteen years.”

“Is engineering and space exploration not your calling?” 

“Yeah, but only for when I'm young and pretty. I'll settle down when I'm older.” Rin shrugs. “Speaking of engineering, my shift's soon. I gotta get ready, so I'll see ya later, Mako.” 

“Alright, bye, Rin.” 

Rin turns and leaves Makoto with the whooshing sound of the door closing. Rin and Sousuke have something going on again, Makoto decides. They've always had an on-off relationship that never really graduated from the 'friends with benefits’ stage. Makoto was Rin's roommate for a year at the academy, and he only saw him sleep in their shared room about twice a week. He never saw them go on any dates, or be anything other than friendly to each other, but he was perceptive and knew when people were hiding something.

Makoto gets off the bed and goes into the bathroom to do his morning routine of shit, shower, shave, and style hair. He hopes that Rin and Sousuke actually get together this time, because he doesn't think he can handle all the drama that comes with it. Rin showing up at his door, half-drunk, and angry because he's a romantic and Sousuke has commitment issues. Sousuke thoroughly beating his ass at the gym because that's how he gets out his emotions, and he refuses to see a therapist. It's not as if Makoto hasn't tried to play matchmaker several times over the last few years, because he has. He remembers getting so fed up that he put both of them in a room and told each of them that they had feelings for each other and should be together. Once they had shrugged and avoided eye contact with Makoto, he reached the conclusion that they already knew that, but for some reason were beating around the bush. 

They are annoying, Makoto thinks as he rubs his hair dry, still wet from the shower. He looks in the mirror. He’s going to need a haircut soon; his hair is getting scruffy at the sides. It took him nearly 25 years to get out of the same hairstyle he’s had since he was a child, and he doesn’t want to go back. It was a pain to get the sides shaved down every few weeks, though. Maybe he’ll just grow it out like Rin and have nice shoulder-length hair that would be featured in a shampoo ad. He chuckles at the thought; it wouldn’t suit him in the slightest. He looks back at his reflection and inspects it a little too much. His pillowcase needs washing again, since he can see some small spots forming on his cheekbones. He definitely needs to be seeing Nao more because the dark circles under his eyes are not a good look. The patchy stubble dusting his jaw almost looks good on him, but he’s never been able to grow a full beard. He’d look very silly if he tried.

He shaves quickly, not having that much to shave anyway, and puts a little concealer on his cheeks and under his eyes. He’s not on shift today, but he still can’t look disheveled. The last thing he wants is some apple-polishing crewman to corner him in the hallway and ask if he’s alright. He can barely handle it if it’s his friends or doctors asking that, let alone some stranger. 

He dresses in some casual clothes: jeans and a flannel over a gray shirt with some brown boots. His style also hasn’t changed much from what his mom bought him as a child. He remembers bringing one of his exes home and his mom doing the typical thing of showing him all of Makoto’s childhood pictures. Xavier had laughed his head off when Makoto’s mom pulled out a picture of him at a relative’s backyard cookout when he was 14, wearing the same outfit he was that evening. It’s habit that he should break out of, but it isn’t _ unfashionable _ , and it hasn’t stopped people being attracted to him. He gives himself one more once over and leaves his quarters.

The mess hall is the place he winds up, the early morning’s hunger driving him there. A few of his crew smile at him as he walks to the protein resequencers, and Makoto returns the smiles happily. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices one crewman- she works in the hydroponics bay, Makoto thinks- looking at him a little too long before snapping back to her meal. Makoto blushes a bit, but tries to shake it off.

He orders a breakfast fit for kings- bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast, a fruit bowl, and a hefty glass of milk. As he turns around and scans the mess hall for somewhere to sit, he spots Haruka sitting by himself at a table in the corner. He makes his way over. There hasn’t been that much time where Haruka wasn’t working for Makoto to talk to him one on one. 

“Mind if I join you?” 

Haruka looks up from his tablet and nods at him. He gently places the tablet on the table and looks at Makoto as he sits down. 

“Good morning.” He says.

Makoto lets out a small chuckle. “Good morning, Haruka.”

Haruka looks at Makoto’s overflowing plate and raises an eyebrow. “That is a large portion.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a big guy. I eat a lot.” He smiles and raises his fork to his mouth but stops when he sees Haruka’s food. “I thought Vulcans were vegan?”

In front of Haruka, his meal sits on the table. It’s one of the ration packs- the nastiest one, fish and mushrooms with a side of asparagus and mashed potatoes akin to play-doh. “Yes, for the most part. Some are only vegetarian. I’m eating this to reduce the consumption of proteins in the resequencers. More material is coming out of them than coming in, meaning we will run out of protein to resequence. I did some research, and this,” He points to his plate with his fork. “Was the least popular. In the event that we do need ration packs, these will be the last ones people choose.”

A disbelieving laugh comes out of Makoto. This is what he means about Haruka being practical. Most Vulcans he’s met have all scoffed at human food and called them barbaric for still eating meat and animal products. “You’re doing us a favor by eating those.”

“That’s the point. Actually, I… enjoy the fish, just not the rest of the meal.”

Makoto gives him a weird look for saying such a thing and begins eating his own- actually good- food. 

“You know,” Makoto says in between sips of milk. “You are the most pleasant Vulcan I’ve ever come across. I’m really glad that someone who isn’t completely dismissive of humans and our cultures is my first officer.”

“Thank you. However, many Vulcans regard humanity the same as I do, but they are not within the Vulcan High Command. Just like humans, there are many different sects of people with different ideologies. Some Vulcans are logic extremists, and want to isolate Vulcan from the rest of the universe to avoid cultural contamination. Some think our purpose is to spread our ideology to the universe, because we have become the superior race. The ones you have come across conflate their superiority complexes with the pursuit of science and look down on what they consider ‘lesser’ civilizations. Others, like myself, believe we have something to learn from every species and culture. Vulcans have evolved in our own way and have developed our own purpose and way of life, but so has everyone else. It would be illogical to assume that ours is best, when we truly don’t know much about other species.” Haruka finishes, and begins eating his food once again. 

Makoto is a little dumbfounded at that and breaks out into a grin. “That’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak.” While that was true, it was also the most eloquently Haruka has ever spoken. He always chooses his words carefully, perhaps because he’s speaking in a non-native language and is unsure of the correct way to say things, or purposefully cushions his words in a way that’s palatable to humans. But just now, he spoke nearly without pause and with a confidence Makoto hasn’t seen before. He guesses that Haruka has probably said that speech, or a version of it before and doesn’t have to think about it.

“I’m a xenoanthropologist. It is my job to know things about people.” Haruka almost sounded smug when he says that.

Makoto laughs at that. They are both quiet for a moment before Makoto perks up again, remembering why he wanted to talk to Haruka. “Are you adjusting well to the ship?”

Haruka hums in thought for a moment. “Yes.”

“...Care to elaborate?”

“My work, little as there is, is going fine. No one is hostile towards me.” He pauses. “Perhaps... Ensign Kirishima is the exception to that. My body is adjusting to the food and the… smell… that humans have-”

“The smell?” 

Haruka nods, not adding any more. 

“We all bathe regularly…” Makoto mutters, suddenly embarrassed. 

“It’s not a matter of personal hygiene, but of physiology. But, maybe you should have a conversation with Crewman Stewart about your statement. He is… unpleasant to be around.”

Makoto is taken aback. “I’m a captain, not his mother. I’m not gonna call out some guy fresh from the academy for his B.O.”

“If you insist.” Haruka places his empty mug on his now clean plate. “It’s now my shift on the bridge, if you’ll excuse me.” He nods at Makoto and walks off to the dish return area then to the exit. Makoto can’t help but watch Haruka as he leaves. He has to rip his eyes away when the doors finally close, and he’s grateful that Haruka was wearing his jacket. Makoto thinks he would have turned red if he watched Haruka swing his hips in that catsuit.

He needs to knock this off. He needed to the minute he saw Haruka. Ashamed of himself, he rubs a hand over his face and quickly finishes up his food. How long has it been since he’s had a boyfriend? Nearly four years, right? No wonder why he was practically falling in love with the first attractive, interesting man he came across in a while. Maybe he should pull a ‘Sousuke’ and sleep with a stranger to ignore his current feelings. That was a little harsh, he thinks. 

He leaves the mess hall and wanders the ship for a while. There really isn’t much to do that isn’t work, and he promised Miho that he’d take at least one day off each week, but in his head, he shortened it down to half a day. Miho is well aware of his tendency to run himself into the ground working, and probably already knows he’s half-broken his promise. 

He finds himself extremely bored and at a loss of what to do, and thinks back to Ensign Hazuki. A pang of sympathy runs through him, and he decides he’s going to pay a visit to hydroponics bay. 

A few crew members smile and nod at him as he walks past. One crewman decides to be funny and falls into a full body, feet together, straight spine salute with a ridiculously serious expression on his face. Makoto lets out a laugh and pats the crewman’s shoulder as he walks past. All this attention is a little uncomfortable to him, and he is beginning to get a little bit overwhelmed. A visit to Ensign Hazuki probably won’t alleviate him being overwhelmed, but he enters the hydroponics bay anyway. 

It’s very warm when he walks in, and he can feel his hair going frizzy from the humidity. There’s a small path to the other side of the room, with various plants bordering it. He doesn’t know what all of them are just by looking, but can identify a tomato plant budding some small green fruit. There’s a strawberry patch near it with the smallest strawberries he’s ever seen hanging from it. He sees a flash of blond hair from somewhere, then Ensign Hazuki pops out from one of the rows. 

“Hola, Capitán!” Hazuki greets cheerfully. “What brings you to Poison Ivy’s den?”

Makoto chuckles. “I just wanted to take a look at how well the crops are coming in.”

“They’re doing great! It’s so nice having all the produce in super healthy soil, in perfect temperatures, with no icky bugs trying to eat the leaves. No pesticides, either! Isn’t that great?” Nagisa seems very excited about the whole thing, but Makoto isn’t completely convinced it’s genuine.

“That’s wonderful, Nagisa.” He pauses, putting his hands in his pockets to seem casual. “I was also curious on how you’re doing.” He says gently. “Your father really wanted you to come aboard, and I want to know if you’re fitting in well.”

Nagisa looks a little startled at being put on the spot, but quickly lets a broad smile decorate his face. “Yeah, I’m doing great! I’ve made friends with people like Lieutenant Ryugazaki and Ensign Matsuoka and Ensign Nitori!” He hesitates, brow furrowing for a second. He looks up at Makoto, and deflates a little under his gaze. “It is... kinda tough to live on a starship, though. I definitely enjoy it, and I’m really glad that I was chosen for this! It’s just… very different from what I’m used to.”

Makoto gives him a sad smile. The poor guy has been pushed into a career that he doesn’t want by his father, and Makoto wants to give him a hug. He settles on saying, “It’ll be okay, Nagisa. If you ever do change your mind about serving on the  _ Enterprise _ , do tell me. I don’t want an unhappy crew. Also, Nao, the chief doctor, is a really good listener and gives the best advice. He’s helped me quite a lot, and if you want to talk to someone about something, he’s the guy to talk to.”

Nagisa gives him a small nod and opens his mouth to say something. Before he can, though, the coms on the wall near the door beep, then someone speaks.

“Bridge to Captain Tachibana,” Haruka’s voice comes through the speakers.

Makoto presses the mic button and answers. “Tachibana.”

“You should come to the bridge, Captain. We’ve found a stellar nursery, and scans are picking up on a ship nearby it.”

Excitement bubbles within him. “On my way.” He says and takes his hand off the button. He turns to look at Nagisa. “Sorry, Ensign, I’ve got to get to the bridge. I’ll talk to you later.”

“No problem, Captain! Have fun doing captain things!” Nagisa says and turns back to tend to the plants. 

Makoto has to stop himself from running to the bridge. He power walks through the corridors and nearly loses his mind when he has to wait in the far too slow turbolift. He’s practically vibrating with excitement. 

The doors finally open to the bridge, and the image on the viewscreen immediately grabs his attention. It’s far away, so the image is zoomed in to a stellar nursery. It’s a gorgeous mass of what looks like a purple cloud stretching over the inky blackness of space. Around it, the purple morphes to reds and oranges with bright stars scattered across it. It’s breathtaking. Makoto stares at in in awe for a few seconds before Haruka grabs his attention.

“Captain,” He begins. “There are several ships nearby the nursery. What is our course of action?”

It takes a little while for Makoto to come back to himself. “Um… Kirishima take us in closer, and, once we’re in range, open a hailing frequency.” He orders, and makes his way to his chair. He sees the viewscreen display the true distance of the nursery. It steadily gets closer as Kirishima engages warp drive.

Ryugazaki makes a sort of distressed sound from behind him. “Sir, if the species we encounter has not met any Vulcans, their language will not be on the translator, and I won’t know how to speak it-”

“Lieutenant,” Makoto gently interrupts, calming smile on his face. “If that’s the case, we’ll just talk to them until the translator picks it up.” He said that cooly, but Rei just planted that fear in his brain. 

Rei nods at his words and steels himself. “We’re within range,” He says a minute later. “Opening a channel.”

A nervous and excited smile creeps on Makoto’s face that broadens when the viewscreen displays two aliens in the bridge of their ship. They are humanoid- a little too humanoid- with small spikes adorning the sides of their chins and browbones. They have slight ridges along the middle of their faces and high foreheads.

“Hello, I am Makoto Tachibana of the starship  _ Enterprise _ .” He hesitates, forgetting what to say for a second. “Um, we come from the planet Earth. We are an exploration vessel, and you’re the second species that we’ve come across the two weeks we’ve been out here.” He smiles nervously.

The people say something in their language, that, like Rei predicted, the ships translator doesn’t pick up. 

“Captain, I need more language input from them for the translator to work.”

“Okay, um,” Makoto fumbles for words. “We’ve gone further than any other humans from our planet, so we haven’t met that many people. Our translator needs to hear you speak more to work. I don’t even know if you understand us.”

The people’s eyes widen. The shorter of the two begins making what looks like to be affirmative gestures, saying something in a light tone.

“Can you understand us?”

They smile and keep making the gestures. 

“That’s great!” Makoto grins. 

The taller one starts talking. They speak for a while, the translator picking out certain words. He hears “starship”, “captain”, “nice people”, and “stars” before their speech is fully translated. 

“-come from multiple planets far from here. Your ship does look quite new; it’s evident you are new explorers.”

“Okay, I understand you know!” Makoto gleefully announces. The people smile, also. 

“That is a relief. I was running out of things to say.” The tall one says, making Makoto laugh. “I am Latar, and this is Kimai. We are part of a pilgrimage to the Great Plume of Agosoria. There are many different pilgrims that come from multiple planets far from here, and we all converge for this event.”

“I haven’t heard of the… Great Plume of Agosoria.”

“Every eleven years, there is a burst of energy from this nursery, and we believe that it holds religious meaning. It signifies our god giving us good fortune and a happy life.”

Makoto smiles. So, the concept of a pilgrimage is universal, he thinks. “That’s a wonderful sentiment. If you’re not too busy, I extend to you and your group to come aboard the  _ Enterprise _ .”

Latar and Kimai exchange a look with each other. “We accept your invitation.” Latar says. “I will check with the rest of the group to see if they would like to join us.”

“Okay, we’ll see you in a bit!”

Latar nods, smiles, and exits the channel. Their image on the viewscreen is replaced by the view of the stellar nursery.

“You might wanna get into uniform, Captain.” Sousuke says from his station.

Makoto looks down at himself and chuckles. “Yeah, the one time something exciting happens is on my day off.” He stands up and makes his way to the turbolift. He stops short when he passes by Haruka’s station. “Is there anything you know about these people?” He asks him.

Haruka looks up from his station. “There is no mention of them in the Vulcan Database, however, their religion is. It’s fairly common in this area, but it’s not violent. I don’t think they’re zealots.”

“Okay, thank you, Haruka.” Makoto turns and leaves. 

 

\- 

 

The pilgrims were nice. More than nice, in fact, they were extremely generous. They showed up with gifts: a clock that counts down until the energy burst, an alcoholic beverage that “enhances the experience”, and a decorative plate that’s now on display in the mess hall. There was about a dozen of them, and they were all soft-spoken and quietly excited about their event. Makoto had the kitchen staff prepare a feast for them, but later felt very guilty when they told him they usually fast during this period. However, they made an exception and broke their fast to try Earth food. Makoto recalls Kimai being particularly fond of oranges, to which Ensign Hazuki took it upon himself to give her some orange seeds and a planter with instructions on how to care for the plant. Makoto had patted him on the back in pride and told him to keep up the hospitality. 

Sousuke and Makoto gave a tour to the pilgrims, and they were interested in all the functions of the ship. One, Sonsorra, had a special interest in the warp core and the general happenings of Engineering. He was a warp field theorist and, naturally, was interested in Starfleet’s one and only warp five capable vessel.

Sousuke was hesitant about showing them every detail of the ship and didn’t let them enter the armory. It was understandable in hindsight, but at the time, Makoto was a little annoyed by Sousuke’s paranoia. However, nothing came of it, and the tour concluded without incident. 

  
The pilgrims left after a few hours to go back to their own ship, and the _ Enterprise _ crew let out a breath that they were collectively holding. The crew was on their best behavior the entire time, and no one made a fool of themselves or humans, and that’s the best compliment Makoto can give. He almost understands why Vulcans were so overprotective of humans and refused to let them explore for a century. As a group, humans can be quite ridiculous, but they weren’t that day. Makoto looks forward to when they next have another encounter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stole half the plot of this from the enterprise episode "Cold Front" (s1 ep 11) except took out the entire annoying mess of time travel and daniels. hate that stuff. also if anyone is confused by why i keep making makoto fawn over harus "catsuit", i made haru wear t'pol's oversexualized, unrealistic, fan service-y outfit bc i love gender equality. i also have no patience for writing genuine story and i just like the thought monologues and character interactions.
> 
> also im thinking of switching to haru's pov.. thoughts? haha ok dont forget to like, comment, and subscribe epic gamers, i'll see you in the next one

**Author's Note:**

> a few things:  
> 1- i know this is a lame au, but i enjoy it  
> 2- title is from the first ep of enterprise where admiral forrest is giving a speech  
> 3- sorry if haru is not haru just yet, he'll become more himself and more human as the story develops  
> 4- i have a bad habit of not continuing stories, so this may not be more than one chapter


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